Motor vehicle door hinge having an integrated braking and holding function

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a motor vehicle door hinge having an integrated braking and holding function. Said door hinge is comprised of a first hinge half which acts upon a door assembly part, a door, or a door pillar, and of a second hinge halve which acts upon another door assembly part. The door hinge also comprises a hinge pin which pivotally connects both hinge halves to one another. The hinge pin is made of a solid material and is accommodated in at least one hinge eye of a hinge half with a running fit and is accommodated in at least one hinge eye of the other half with a close fit. A braking and holding device which is integrated in the hinge comprises at least one spring-loaded braking and holding body. Said braking and holding body is aligned in a radial manner relative to the hinge pin and interacts with a circumferential profile of the hinge pin, said profile extending over a part of the circumference thereof. The aim of the invention is to obtain an increasing braking of the opening movement of the doors over a predetermined permitted opening angle of the doors, and inversely to obtain a progressively easier closing movement of the doors. To this end, the circumferential profile of the hinge pin which extends over a part of the circumference thereof forms a braking ramp comprising a contour which continuously increases in the door opening direction. In addition, the braking and holding body which interacts with said braking ramp is configured as a friction body.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a motor vehicle door hinge withintegrated braking and holding function, including a first hinge halffastenable to one door arrangement part, namely door or door pillar, anda second hinge half fastenable to the other door arrangement part andalso a hinge pin pivotably connecting the two hinge halves to oneanother, the hinge pin consisting of a solid material and being arrangedin at least one hinge lug of one hinge half with a running fit, but inat least one hinge lug of the other hinge half with a firm fit, and abraking and holding device integrated into the hinge comprising at leastone spring-loaded braking and holding body and which co-operates with acircumferential hinge-pin profiling extending over part of thecircumference of said hinge Din and which is oriented radially to thehinge pin.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The aim of such or comparably designed integration of a braking andholding function into a motor vehicle door hinge is to provide asmall-size combination of door stop and door hinge which is suitable forexerting high braking and holding forces and which is distinguished bythe utilization of parts present in any case in the hinge and by thesmallest possible number of components and the simplest possiblemountability.

A motor vehicle door hinge of the abovementioned type with integratedbraking and holding function is known, for example, from European Patentapplication No. EP-A 0 816 610 and is distinguished essentially in thatthe braking and holding function is formed as a whole from a cylinderhousing connected fixedly in terms of rotation to one of the doorarrangement parts and from a cylinder plug received in the cylinderhousing and connected fixedly in terms of rotation to the other doorarrangement part and also from at least one braking and holding bodyarranged radially adjustably in one part, namely a cylinder housing orcylinder plug, the cylinder plug being formed by a length portion of thehinge pin. Although such accommodation of the braking and holding devicein a closed cylinder housing ensures not only small-size execution andassignment, but also an absolutely leak-tight design of the door stop,so that any impairment of the braking and holding functions of the doorstop due to the painting of the vehicle body and a subsequent escape ofabrasion or other dirt possibly occurring during operation are bothruled out, nevertheless, on the other hand, it has the disadvantage thatthe door cannot be stopped in a step-free manner and there is thereforethe risk that noise would be generated during operation. Moreover, theknown braking and holding device necessitates the production andmounting of a multiplicity of individual parts and is thereforerelatively complicated.

Furthermore, in order to achieve continuous braking and step-freestopping of the vehicle door in motor vehicle door hinges with anintegrated braking and holding function, it has already also beenproposed to secure the hinge pin fixedly in terms of rotation in thehinge lug or hinge lugs of a first hinge half and to equip it, over itslength passing through the hinge lug of the other hinge half in which itis to have a running fit, with at least one radially ascending wedgesurface and to assign to the latter at least one wedge surface radiallyascending on the inner circumference of the hinge-lug bore of theassociated hinge lug of the second hinge half, in which case the twowedge surfaces must have identical pitches such that they form pairs ofwedge surfaces which, over their entire overlap region, bear on oneanother essentially over a large area German Patent No. (DE-C 44 06824). Although this configuration of a braking and holding device hasthe attractive benefit that no additional components are necessary toimplement it and that, furthermore, the overall size of the hinge is notinfluenced or is influenced only insignificantly, it nevertheless hasthe disadvantage that, to achieve the desired braking and holdingaction, the wedge surfaces must have, on the one hand, a wedge surfaceascending at a very low angle and, on the other hand, a flank surfacedescending at a steep angle, thus resulting in a considerable outlay inproduction terms both for the hinge pin and for the hinge-lug bore,particularly because the mutually co-operating wedge surfaces on thehinge pin, on the one hand, and on the inner circumference of thehinge-lug bore, on the other hand, have to be manufactured with thehighest possible precision which can scarcely be achieved in massproduction. Insofar as the criterion of highest possible precision isnot fulfilled or is fulfilled only inadequately, either a sufficientinhibiting action cannot be achieved or premature wear occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object on which the present invention is based is to improve a doorstop capable of being integrated into a door hinge and, at the sametime, a, in particular, demountable motor vehicle door hinge equippedwith an integrated door stop, to the effect that the door stop as awhole is designed to have as small a size as possible, even in the caseof a maximum door opening angle of up to 270°, and has a closed designin the same way, and that, furthermore, the holding forces of the doorstop are adjustable, even subsequently, at any desired moment and withregard to the mounting of the hinge or stop on the vehicle body, andadjustability is to be afforded, irrespective of whether the door stopis designed to be integrated into a door hinge or as a stop independentof the door hinges.

The object on which the present invention is based is, therefore, toprovide a motor vehicle door hinge with integrated braking and holdingfunction, which, whilst having the simplest possible form ofconstruction, ensures, over a predetermined permitted opening angle ofthe door, an increasing braking of the opening movement of the door and,conversely, an increasingly easier closing movement of said door and ata selected opening angle contains a limit stop for the motor vehicledoor and, furthermore, in which, on the one hand, the painting of thevehicle body cannot lead to any impairment in functioning and, on theother hand, the operation of a vehicle door or the operating mode of thedoor stop cannot lead to any paint or dirt abrasion.

Proceeding from a motor vehicle door hinge of the type described in theintroduction, this object is may be achieved, according to the presentinvention, in that the circumferential hinge-pin profiling extendingover part of the circumference of said hinge pin forms a braking ramphaving a contour profile continuously ascending in the door openingdirection and the braking and holding body co-operating with saidbraking ramp is designed as a frictional body,

This configuration of a braking and holding device is distinguished, inthe first place, in that, in order to implement it on or as integratedinto a motor vehicle door hinge, it is necessary, in principle, to haveonly two additional parts, specifically the braking and holding body anda loading spring. At the same time, the design according to the presentinvention of a braking and holding device integrated into a door hingemakes it possible to exert continuously rising or falling braking andholding forces, with the obvious possibility of being able to adaptthese in a simple way, without additional outlay, to any desired profileof force rise or of force fall by the configuration or modification ofthe contour shape of the braking ramp. Since, in the braking and holdingdevice designed according to the present invention, the braking forcesare exerted and supported solely within a hinge lug, such a braking andholding device is also suitable for use in conjunction with any desiredtype of door hinges, that is to say both single-shear and double-sheardoor hinges. Furthermore, the braking and holding device according tothe present invention allows a wide range of different embodimentswhich, on the one hand, are adaptable to the respective hinge shape orhinge type and, on the other hand, can be designed according to thenecessary braking forces.

In a simple and preferred embodiment, there is provision for the brakingramp to be formed in the bottom of a radial hinge-pin recess extendingover part of the circumference of said hinge pin, the radial hinge-pinrecess which contains the braking ramp being arranged within that regionof said hinge pin which passes through the or one of the hinge lugs inwhich it has a running fit and extending over part of the height of thehinge lug and only over a circumferential hinge-pin region correspondingto the permitted maximum opening angle of the door.

In order to ensure a reliable limitation of the maximum door openingangle, there is provision, further, for the radial hinge-pin recesswhich contains the braking ramp to be delimited in the door openingdirection by an opening limit stop co-operating with the braking andholding body, the opening limit stop which co-operates with the brakingand holding body being formed advantageously by a stop strip insertedinto the radial hinge-pin recess which contains the braking ramp.

In a further configuration of the preferred embodiment of a motorvehicle door hinge equipped with an integrated braking and holdingdevice, there is expediently provision, further, for the braking andholding body to be received radially relative to the hinge pin in thehinge half containing that hinge lug in which the hinge pin has arunning fit and to be acted upon by a spring load in the direction ofthe hinge pin. In this respect, a favourable individual embodiment isseen in that the braking and holding body has a height corresponding atleast approximately to the height of the radial hinge-pin recess.

With a view to a small-size accommodation of the braking and holdingdevice within the hinge, there is provision for the braking and holdingbody to have a rectangular cross-section and shape and to be receivedlongitudinally displaceably, on edge, in a pocket-like recess, issuinginto the hinge lug, of the hinge plate of that hinge half in the hingelug of which the hinge pin has a running fit.

In conjunction with such a design and accommodation of a braking andholding body, a preferred feature of the present invention provides,furthermore, for a loading spring assigned to the braking and holdingbody to be designed as a helical spring and, in an arrangement orientedaxially parallel to the hinge axis, on the one hand, to be supportedagainst a cover closing the pocket-like recess in the hinge plate and,on the other hand, to engage by means of a force deflection device onthat end of the braking and holding body which faces away from the hingepin. In this case, an embodiment, capable of being implemented andmounted without high outlay, of the force deflection device assigned tothe loading spring designed as a helical spring is obtained in that thedeflection is formed by a wedge body which is acted upon by the loadingspring and which, on the one hand, is supported against a back surface,inclined relative to the hinge axis, of the pocket-like recess andengages on the smooth-surface rear side of the braking and holding body,said rear side being oriented parallel to the hinge axis.

For the purpose of integrating the braking and holding device into thehinge as far as possible, in a further embodiment of the presentinvention there is also expediently provision for closing off by meansof a cover part the pocket-like recess, receiving the braking andholding body and oriented radially to the hinge axis, of the pivotablehinge half, a screw bolt assigned to the fastening of the cover part atthe same time passing through a bore recess in the braking and holdingbody, said bore recess expediently being designed as an oversize bore.

An action which is virtually completely wear-free and silent over thelifetime of the hinge and therefore of the braking and holding device isachieved, in a braking and holding device of the preferred embodiment,essentially in that the hinge mounting and the braking and holdingdevice arranged in the latter are equipped with once-only lifetimelubrication. For this purpose, according to an expedient individualembodiment, a door hinge configuration suitable for ensuring suchlifetime lubrication provides for there to be formed on the hinge pin,in conjunction with a hood-like design, engaging over the hinge pin, ofthe hinge lug of the hinge half pivotable relative to the hinge pin andcontaining the braking and holding body, a radially projecting collarwhich engages over the open side of the hinge lug, and for the hingelug, engaging in a hood-like manner over the hinge pin, of the pivotablehinge half to be sealed off by means of a sealing disc inserted betweenits open end face and the radially projecting collar of the hinge pin.

However, in a modified configuration of the design according to theinvention of braking and holding devices, said configuration beingassigned to achieving non-linearly rising braking forces or non-linearlyfalling closing forces of a braking and holding device integrated into adoor hinge, there may also be provision for the braking ramp formed inthe bottom of a radial hinge-pin recess extending over part of thecircumference of said hinge pin to have a discontinuous pitch from itsend assigned to the closing position of the door to its end assigned tothe opening end position of the door.

Finally, an advantageous development of a door hinge equipped with abraking and holding device according to the present invention may alsobe distinguished in that the rotationally fixed securing of the hingepin to the other hinge half is assigned an essentially hood-like hingelug of the other hinge half, said hinge lug receiving an associatedlength portion of the hinge pin and being equipped with a Hirth-typeserration, and a screw holding the Hirth-type serration in engagementand passing through the end wall of the hood-shaped hinge lug.

The present invention is described in detail in the following exampledescription by means of an exemplary embodiment illustrated in thedrawing in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a door hinge equipped with an integratedbraking and holding device;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of a hinge according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section through the hinge along the lineIII—III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a cross section through the door hinge along the line IV-IVin FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a graphical illustration of the profile of the brakingforce against the door opening angle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4 of a braking and holding device,as shown in the exemplary embodiment and as integrated into a doorhinge, the door hinge include a first hinge half 1 to be fastened to onedoor arrangement part and a second hinge half 2 to be fastened to theother door arrangement part and also hinge pin 3. The hinge pin 3 is, inthis case, braced by means of a screw bolt 4 passing through it againstthe bottom surface 5 of a hinge lug 6 of the hinge half 1, said hingelug being approximately bowl-shaped as a whole. For connecting the hingepin 3 fixedly in terms of rotation to the hinge half 1, the hinge lug 6is provided on the inside with a Hirth-type serration and the hinge pin3 has a complementary profiling over part of its engagement length. Thebraking and holding device comprises a braking and holding body 8, whichis arranged so as to be oriented radially to the hinge axis 7 and isreceived in the hinge half 2 displaceably in a plane oriented radiallyto the hinge pin 3 and which is spring-loaded in the direction of thehinge axis 7, and a braking ramp 9 formed on the hinge pin 3. Thebraking ramp 9 is formed at the bottom of a radial recess 10 in thehinge pin 3 and, in the embodiment shown, has a contour ascendingcontinuously from its end 11 assigned to the closing position of thedoor to the opening limit stop 12 assigned to the maximum door openingangle. In the embodiment shown, the opening limit stop is reinforced orformed by a stop strip 13 inserted into the hinge pin 3. The braking andholding body 8, designed as a frictional body has a rectangularcross-sectional shape and a height corresponding at least approximatelyto the height of the radial recess 10 in the hinge pin 3 and is receivedlongitudinally displaceably as a whole in a pocket-like recess 15,issuing into the hinge lug 14, in the hinge plate 16 of the hinge half 2in the hinge lug 14 of which the hinge pin 3 has a running fit and isacted upon by a spring load in the direction of the hinge pin 3. Aloading spring 17 assigned to the braking and holding body 8 is designedas a helical spring and, in an arrangement oriented axially parallel tothe hinge axis 7, on the one hand, is supported against a cover 18closing the pocket-like recess 15 in the hinge plate 16 and, on theother, hand, engages by means of a force deflection device on that endof the braking and holding body 8 which faces away from the hinge pin.In the embodiment shown, the force deflection device assigned to theloading spring 17 designed as a helical spring is formed by a wedge body21 which is acted upon by the loading spring 17 and, on the one hand, issupported against a back surface 19, inclined relative to the hinge axis7, of the pocket-like recess 15 and, on the other hand, engages on thesmooth-surface rear side 20 of the braking and holding body 8, said rearside being oriented parallel to the hinge axis 7.

A screw bolt 22 assigned to the fastening of the cover 18 on the endface of the hinge plate 16 at the same time passes through an oversizedbore recess 23 in the braking and holding body 8 and thus serves forsimplifying the mounting of the braking and holding device. The hingelug 14 of the hinge half 2 pivotable relative to the hinge pin 3 has ahood-like design engaging over the hinge pin 3. Furthermore, there isformed on the hinge pin 3 a radially projecting collar 24 which engagesbetween the two hinge lugs 6 and 14 of the two hinge halves 1 and 2 andon which the open side 25 of the hinge lug 14, engaging in a hood-likemanner over the hinge pin 3, of the pivotable hinge half 2 is sealed offby means of a sealing disc 26 inserted between the open end face 25 ofsaid hinge lug and the radially projecting collar 24 of the hinge pin 3.Further more, the hinge mounting and the braking and holding devicearranged in the latter are equipped with once-only lifetime lubricationwhich cannot be seen in detail from the drawing.

The graphical illustration, shown in figure 5 of the profile of thebraking forces exerted over the door opening angle by theabove-described embodiment of a braking and holding device make itclear, in particular, that, even in the case of a rectilinear andcontinuously and uniformly ascending design of the pitch of the brakingramp of the braking and holding device, a superproportional rise in thebraking forces in the door opening direction can be achieved with anincreasing door opening angle. Furthermore, the graphical illustrationindicates that, during the closing of the door, the braking forcesexerted by the braking and holding device initially fall very quicklyfrom a maximum value assigned to the opening end position of the door,thus increasing the ease with which the door is operated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A motor vehicle door hinge with integratedbraking and holding function, comprising: a first hinge half fastenableto one of a door and a door pillar, a second hinge half fastenable tothe other of said door and said door pillar, a hinge pin pivotablyconnecting said first hinge half with said second hinge half, said hingepin being a solid material and being arranged with a running fit in atleast one hinge lug of one of said first hinge half and said secondhinge half and with a firm fit in at least one other hinge lug of theother of said first hinge half and said second hinge half, and a brakingand holding arrangement integrated into the hinge, comprising acircumferential hinge-pin profiling extending over part of thecircumference of said hinge pin, at least one braking and holding bodydisplaceable radially with respect to said-hinge pin, and a springurging an end face of said braking and holding body into frictionalcontact with said hinge pin profiling, wherein said hinge-pin profilingdefines an ascending profile such that the holding force of the hingeincreases in an opening direction of the hinge and decreases in aclosing direction of the hinge.
 2. The motor vehicle door hingeaccording to claim 1, wherein the hinge pin profiling is formed in abottom of a radial hinge-pin recess extending over part of thecircumference of said hinge pin.
 3. The motor vehicle door hingeaccording to claim 2, wherein the radial hinge-pin recess which containsthe hinge pin profiling is arranged within that length region of saidhinge pin which passes through said at least one hinge lug in which saidhinge pin has a running fit and extends only over part of said at leastone hinge lug and only over a circumferential hinge-pin regioncorresponding to the permitted maximum opening angle of the hinge. 4.The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 2, wherein the radialhinge-pin recess is delimited in the door opening direction by anopening limit stop co-operating with the braking and holding body. 5.The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 4, wherein the openinglimit stop is formed by a stop strip inserted into the radial hinge-pinrecess.
 6. The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 2, whereinthe braking and holding body has a height corresponding at leastapproximately to the height of the radial hinge-pin recess.
 7. The motorvehicle door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the braking and holdingbody has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and is received, on edge,adjustably radially to the hinge pin in the hinge half containing thathinge lug in which the hinge pin has a running fit.
 8. The motor vehicledoor hinge according to claim 1, wherein the braking and holding body isreceived in a pocket-like recess issuing into the hinge lug of a hingeplate of that hinge half in the hinge lug of which the hinge pin has arunning fit.
 9. The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 8,wherein a loading spring assigned to the braking and holding body isdesigned as a helical spring and, in an arrangement oriented axiallyparallel to the hinge axis, on the one hand, is supported against acover part closing the pocket-like recess in the hinge plate of thehinge half and, on the other hand, engages using a force deflectiondevice on an end of the braking and holding body which faces away fromthe hinge pin.
 10. The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 9,wherein the force deflection device is formed by a wedge body that issupported against a back surface, inclined relative to the hinge axis,of the pocket-like recess and engages on a smooth-surface rear side ofthe braking and holding body, said rear side being oriented parallel tothe hinge axis.
 11. The motor vehicle door hinge according to claim 10,wherein a screw bolt assigned to the fastening of the cover part is atthe same time passing through a bore recess in the braking and holdingbody, said bore recess being designed preferably as a long-hole recessand allowing at least a play of the braking and holding body in theradial direction of the hinge pin.
 12. The motor vehicle door hingeaccording to claim 1, wherein a radially projecting collar is formed onthe hinge pin which engages over an open side of a hinge lug of said oneof said first hinge half and said second hinge half.
 13. The motorvehicle door hinge according to claim 12, wherein the hinge lug issealed off by a sealing disc inserted between the open end face of saidhinge lug and the radially projecting collar of the hinge pin.
 14. Themotor vehicle door hinge according to claim 12, wherein the hinge lug isequipped with once-only lifetime lubrication.
 15. The motor vehicle doorhinge according to claim 1, wherein the hinge-pin profiling formed inthe bottom of a radial hinge-pin recess extending over part of thecircumference of said hinge pin has a non-linear pitch from an endassigned to a closing position of the door to an other end assigned toan opening end position of the door.
 16. The motor vehicle door hingeaccording to claim 1, wherein the rotationally fixed securing of thehinge pin to said other hinge half is assigned a hinge lug of said otherhinge half, said hinge lug of said other hinge half receiving anassociated length portion of the hinge pin and being equipped with aHirth-type serration, and wherein a screw holds the Hirth-type serrationin engagement and passes through the end wall of the hood-shaped hingelug.
 17. A motor vehicle door hinge with integrated braking and holdingfunction, comprising: a first hinge half fastenable to one of a door anda door pillar, a second hinge half fastenable to the other of said doorand said door pillar, a hinge pin pivotably connecting said first hingehalf with said second hinge half, said hinge pin being a solid materialand being arranged with a running fit in at least one hinge lug of oneof said first hinge half and said second hinge half and with a firm fitin at least one other hinge lug of the other of said first hinge halfand said second hinge half, a braking and holding arrangement integratedinto the hinge, comprising a circumferential hinge-pin profilingextending over part of the circumference of said hinge pin, at least onebraking and holding body displaceable radially with respect tosaid-hinge pin and having a first end face and a second end faceopposite the first end face, and a spring urging the first end face ofsaid braking and holding body into frictional contact with said hingepin profiling, and a wedge body, said spring being loaded against afirst surface of the wedge body, said wedge body having a second surfacebeing in contact with the second end face of the braking and holdingbody, and a third surface inclined with respect to said second surfaceand with respect to said first surface, said second surface and saidthird surface defining an acute angle, wherein said third surface is incontact with an inclined portion of a recess of a hinge plate of one ofsaid first hinge half and said second hinge half receiving the brakingand holding body and the wedge body so that the wedge body is urgedtowards said acute angle thus forcing the braking and holding bodytowards the hinge pin.